Gabrielle, Matchmaker Extraordinaire
by LovelyMagickUnicorn
Summary: Faberry Week Day 1: Blind Date. Awkwardness ensues when a mutual friend sets up Rachel and Quinn on a blind date. But by the end of the night sparks might just fly... or that might just be more awkwardness.


AN: Happy Faberry Week! Hope you enjoy.

From the title you can probably guess that this features Gabrielle. (I still love that highly attractive, nameless Cheerio)

* * *

"I still can't believe that you convinced me to go through with this," Rachel complained as she looked herself over in full body mirror. She was wearing a dark, tight-fit dress that hugged her curves perfectly. It wouldn't have been her first choice, but just like her current situation this hadn't actually been her choice. "As I've told you before, I'm happily single," she informed her friend.

"And ornery," Gabrielle added. "Come on, you need to relax some more," she said, coming up behind Rachel to massage her shoulders in an attempt to ease the stress out of her. "Don't you remember how fun it was when we went for a night on the town a week after we first met?"

Rachel groaned. "Oh, don't remind me. That night was so embarrassing."

"Keep telling yourself that, babe. You know you loved making out with me," Gabrielle teased, licking her lips. Rachel flushed, ducking her head to avoid her gaze. The taller brunette chuckled at her actions.

"Let's just go," Rachel said, if only to change the topic. "The sooner I meet my date, the sooner this can all be over."

"See, this is exactly why you need to start dating!" Gabrielle pointed out.

"Perhaps," Rachel played along, acting as though she wasn't offended by what she knew her friend was thinking. "But even if that were so, I don't understand the purpose of not giving me any information about whom my blind date will be."

"It's called 'blind date' for a reason, Rach."

"I know. But can't you at least tell me her name?"

"What? So you can Google her?" She rose up a finger, shaking it (and her head) back and forth. "No way. I know you Rachel Berry, and I know how much you love to do research. Besides, all you need to know is that she's smart, funny, and smoking hot," she informed, putting an emphasis on the last two words. "And she's got a great ass." Rachel huffed indignantly.

"Must you always be so juvenile?"

"One of us has to be."

A short drive later Rachel found herself being dragged to a local movie theatre. It was such a cliché, but she took comfort in knowing that she'd at least have the perfect excuse to not speak if need be. She fiddled nervously with the hem of her skirt. It'd been so long since she had been on a date. It felt weird going on one now, especially since she had no idea who she was going out with in the first place.

"Relax," Gabby insisted. "I'm telling you, she's perfect for you."

"Still can't believe you convinced me to do this," Rachel muttered. Gabrielle ignored her. Instead she focused on keeping an eye out for Rachel's date. Her eyes scoured down the block, searching for any hint of her friend. She had told her to be here at precisely six o' clock. Anyone who knew Rachel knew that she had a thing for punctuality. She sighed, pulling her phone out of her bra to check the time. If she didn't show up soon, then this whole date could be ruined.

But Gabrielle's hope was soon restored. "There she is," she cheered, tugging Rachel arm as she ran off. They came to a stop in front of blonde-haired beauty. Gabrielle grinned widely as she saw the awed look on Rachel's face. She mentally fist-pumped. Score one for Gabby. "So Rachel, this is-" she began to introduce, turning towards the blonde.

"Quinn?"

"Rachel?"

Gabrielle paused and turned back to Rachel, and then back to Quinn. They both wore the same confused and surprised expression. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the two of them. She had a bad feeling about this. "You two- you two, know each other?" she asked nervously. Neither answered, but they didn't really have to. "Oh wow, I uh… I screwed up big time, didn't I?" she said with a laugh in an attempt to ease the tension. She failed miserably. "You two didn't used to date, did you?"

"No," they both answered, breaking eye contact for the first time.

"Good, good. "Gabrielle breathed out a sigh of relief. "This would have been really awkward otherwise." Clearly though, it still was. "Okay… so, I feel really dumb now and I guess I probably should have at least told you each other's names. Probably could have avoided this whole situation and… neither of you seem to be paying attention to a word I say." They weren't. "All right, in that case I'm leaving. Bye." She marched off, a fake smile plastered on her face. "Crap," she muttered, once out of hearing range.

"This is a surprise," Rachel finally spoke up. "It's been a while, hasn't it Quinn?"

"Yeah, it has." the blonde agreed. "I'm sorry I haven't come by to visit," she began to apologize.

"No need to explain, Quinn," Rachel quickly shushed her. "I understand completely. Things changed after college," the brunette expressed somberly. "And it's not like we haven't kept in contact," she pointed out.

"That's no excuse," Quinn argued. "I should have found a way to come by."

"That's not important. You're here now… even if under these odd circumstances."

"Yeah," Quinn timidly agreed, shifting on the balls of her feet. "I guess you have a lot of questions you want to ask." Rachel opened her mouth to protest but Quinn continued on before she could. "No, it's okay. This isn't exactly how I envisioned telling you this, but I suppose that it'll have to do." She closed her eyes, taking deep breathes as she steadied herself.

"Maybe we should find somewhere more private to talk," Rachel suggested. Quinn let out a breath, nodding her head in agreement. "There's this little coffee shop around the corner. If you'd like, we can go there."

"Yeah, that'd be nice." Rachel tentatively took Quinn's hand, leading her in the direction of the coffee shop. They were both silent during the short walk. Once inside, they each a small coffee before situating themselves at the most secluded table they could find. Rachel took a sip of her drink, noting that Quinn wasn't even touching hers. Instead she was nervously playing with her fingers.

Rachel found that she, herself, was nervous herself. She didn't know what she was expecting Quinn to say, nor if she really wanted to hear what she had to say. For as long as she had known Quinn, Rachel had never considered that she could be… but perhaps this had been a big misunderstanding; Gabrielle did have a tendency to jump to conclusions far too quickly. Maybe she had made a bad assumption. Or maybe…

"Rachel… I'm gay."

"Oh," was Rachel's initial reaction. Quinn studied her closely, taking what she could to gauge how her friend felt about her admission. But all she could tell was that Rachel was surprised. "I uh… I um… I-"

"You don't have to say anything, Rach," Quinn assured.

"No," Rachel quickly objected. "I apologize for my silence, but I'm sure you understand that this is quite unexpected and by no means should you think that I see you any differently than I had before. It's just that this is a lot to take in at one time, but I still care about you just the same." Rachel gave a reassuring smile, one which Quinn quickly returned. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I don't know," Quinn answered. "I was scared, I guess. I've never told anyone before."

"Then how does Gabby know?" Rachel asked, her tone curious and not spiteful.

"She guessed," Quinn replied, chuckling afterwards. "She had been trying to set me up for the longest time," she explained, but I refused to go out with any of the guys she found for me. This one time she made a joke about how she should find a girl for me to date." Quinn shook her head. "My face got so red."

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about Quinn."

"I wasn't embarrassed!" Rachel made a face, jutting out her lower lip. "Okay, maybe I was a little embarrassed but I wasn't ready to come out yet," she admitted. Tiny hands fell on top of hers. Quinn looked up, hazel orbs locking with chocolate brown ones. Her hands began to shake. She pulled them away suddenly, turning slightly to break eye contact. "You still want to watch a movie?"

* * *

Things got quiet in the theatre, but Quinn didn't mind. She was still too busy trying to make sense of everything. Of all the people she could have imagined Gabrielle setting her up with, she could have never guessed that it'd be Rachel. And now because of that she had told her the truth, or at least part of it. She was nervous, her hands absentmindedly fiddling in her lap.

Her gaze would fall onto the brunette every so often. She wouldn't even be able to recall what was happening on screen. Rachel, on the other hand, was fully enthralled in the film. Good thing too, or else she'd notice how much Quinn would just stare at her. Quinn's cheeks colored immediately at the thought of being caught looking.

She couldn't help but find it funny how she felt so much like that like that little teenage girl all over again. The fluttering in her chest, the butterflies in her stomach. It felt so good, and yet so terrifying. "Popcorn?" she nervously offered, lifting the giant tub up off her lap. Rachel smiled before taking a small handful. Quinn repositioned the tub and began eating as well; anything to stop her from acting like a bumbling fool.

It had been a while since she felt this small, this vulnerable. Despite the fact that college allowed Quinn to accept her sexuality, she now turned back into that scared little girl hiding in the closet. All because of Rachel; her blind date. The thought still seemed ridiculous.

Quinn continued to munch on her non-buttered popcorn. Maybe if she finished she could make an excuse to get some more. She couldn't understand what had compelled her to ask Rachel if she still wanted to watch a movie. Okay, perhaps the temptation of going on a date with Rachel (even only the illusion of one) was far too alluring for Quinn to turn down but she should have known better.

And now here she was, her sexuality out in the open, with Rachel and all she wanted to do was wrap an arm around her or take hold of her hand. She wanted to lean into her, or be leaned upon, or just make-out in the back of the theatre like they were still teenagers. But she couldn't do that, or could she?

The question lingered in her mind. What was this? Were they friends simply hanging out or was this something more? She couldn't by reading Rachel's expression or posture, and asking was out of the question. In a worst case scenario she'd get rejected and make the whole evening far more awkward than it had already been. Quinn wouldn't risk making Rachel feel guilty like that.

She reached into the popcorn tub, her hand bumping against Rachel's as she reached in too. "Sorry," Rachel apologized, retracting her hand. Quinn shook her head, lifting the tub up.

"No, you take first." Rachel reached back in, smiling, and pulled a popped kernel out. She brought it to her lips but stopped before putting it into her mouth. There was a glint in her eye. She withdrew the piece of popcorn from her mouth and instead brought it to Quinn's lips.

"Here," she offered, causing Quinn to blink in surprise. Rachel chuckled at Quinn's lack of response. "Open your mouth," she gently instructed. Quinn slowly did as she was told and watched as Rachel dropped the piece of popcorn into her mouth, the tips of her fingers lightly brushing against Quinn's bottom lip. Rachel reached into the tub for another, missing how Quinn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Quinn stared at Rachel, as though the simple action would grant her the answers to questions she didn't dare voice aloud. She stopped eating tossing popcorn into her mouth, but every once in a while Rachel would feed her another kernel and each time Quinn felt guilty about her thoughts to sucking Rachel's fingers into her mouth. She was glad that she was able to resist doing so.

When the movie came to a close Rachel linked their arms. She carefully led Quinn out of the theatre until they were outside under the night sky. Rachel shivered as a cold breeze blew by. Quinn took her into her arms. "Thanks," she quietly said. "Care to give me a ride home?"

"Sure," Quinn answered instantly.

With Rachel still in her arms, Quinn made her way to her car. She opened the passenger side door and let Rachel before running over to the driver's side and jumping in herself. It had been months since Quinn had been to Rachel's place, but she could still remember where it was. Before long they were parked outside.

"Here we are," Quinn announced.

"Yeah, thanks for the ride. I had a great day." Rachel opened the door and took a step out.

"Wait!" Quinn called. "Let me walk you up," she insisted, jumping out of the car before Rachel could protest. Quinn was in front of Rachel in a flash. She reached out and took Rachel's hand. Quinn carefully helped her out of the car and escorted her to her front porch. She half expected Rachel to pull out her keys and disappear inside, but she made no such move.

"I had a lot of fun today, Quinn," she admitted shyly, shifting on the balls of her feet. "We should do this again sometime." She burst into her megawatt smile, the same one that said she was really happy, but it looked different. Nervous.

"Sure, definitely," Quinn agreed, taking Rachel's tiny hands in hers. Silence befell them. Quinn leaned in but quickly drew back, a look of disappointment seeming to cross Rachel's features. But it disappeared quickly, making Quinn wonder if it had been there at all. "Rach?"

"Yes, Quinn."

"What was tonight for you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to know if I'm about to make a big mistake." Quinn leapt forward, attaching her lips to Rachel's. She waited for the moment for Rachel to push her off, but instead fingers threaded through her hair and pulled Quinn in closer. She moaned into the kiss, taking one of Rachel's legs and wrapping it around her waist before pushing her up against the door. They pulled apart sometime after, both panting for breath.

"Would you like to come inside Quinn?" Rachel asked.

"Rachel Berry, are you asking me what I think you're asking me?" Quinn teased.

Rachel shook her head. "I don't put on a first date Quinn." Quinn pouted. "You'll just have to take me out again."


End file.
